In park pole controversy, finally peace

The peace pole recently installed in Walnut Park, sparking a controversy that was anything but peaceful, finally has a resolution.

The Petaluma Service Club Alliance, which installed the three-sided granite monolith, worked out an agreement with city parks officials to display the word “peace” in nine foreign languages on the pole with an accompanying explanatory plaque.

The controversy arose after the original proposal from the group sought to display the word “peace” in various foreign languages spelled out phonetically in Roman characters. Members of the Recreation, Music and Parks Commission questioned the choice of the languages and the use of Roman characters as opposed to spelling the word in the script of the languages.

The plaque that will accompany the pole will display a world map showing where the foreign languages are spoken and include the word “peace” spelled in the native characters.

Maureen Frances, founding member of the Service Club Alliance, a group of Petaluma service clubs, said that the controversy held up the completion of the Walnut Park restoration project.

“There was just no peace around this whole thing,” she said. “Now there is peace.”

The word “peace” in Spanish, Russian, Swahili, Hindi, Arabic, Japanese, Mandarin, Hebrew and German will be added immediately, she said. The explanatory plaque could be installed within a month, she added.

“We are finally moving forward,” she said. “There seems to be a new energy. We are encouraged by our partnership with the city.”

The peace pole is part of the $150,000 restoration of Walnut Park, which included replacing the badly rutted asphalt with smooth concrete. Frances said that additional work will include a low concrete wall around the playground and rehabilitation of the gazebo. A re-dedication is tentatively set for July 5, she said.

Kevin McDonnell, a member of the Recreation, Music and Parks Commission, thanked the community groups for contributing to improving the park.

“It’s a challenge,” he said. “This kind of behavior is what it takes to have amenities in Petaluma that otherwise the council won’t provide. Let’s see if others step up on other park challenges that we need.”

(Contact Matt Brown at matt.brown@arguscourier.com.)